Isaiah Likely vs Travis Kelce: Who Should You Start?
Isaiah Likely and Travis Kelce are both viable fantasy tight ends heading into 2026, but their 2025 production tells two different stories. Isaiah Likely averaged 3.4 PPG across 14 games with the New York Giants, while Travis Kelce posted 9.1 PPG in 17 appearances for the Kansas City Chiefs.
A 5.7-PPG gap gives Travis Kelce the edge on paper, but paper does not account for Thursday night matchups, weather games, or a star defender returning from injury. The real question is not who was better in 2025, but who is the better start this specific week.
Travis Kelce is the volume tight end in this matchup with 76 receptions for 851 yards, while Isaiah Likely profiles as a more touchdown-dependent spike play (1 scores on 27 catches). In weeks where Isaiah Likely finds the end zone he out-scores Travis Kelce, but the floor gap is real.
Isaiah Likely has his bye in Week 11, and Travis Kelce rests in Week 6. Managers rostering both need waiver wire depth at tight end for those two weeks, and that is exactly the kind of planning DraftCall's matchup engine surfaces automatically so you are not scrambling on a Sunday morning.
